Nov. 19, 2008

Cronkite School Features Major New Work of Public Art and Environmental Design

The city of Phoenix Public Art Program has taken a significant step in environmental design with the completion of a major new permanent work of public art by artist Paul Deeb.

Titled “Aldis,” the artwork is integrated into the façade of the new downtown ASU Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and is being featured as part of this week’s dedication of the building, located at Central Avenue and Taylor Street.

The artwork is built into the glass facade of the building’s six-story stair tower facing Taylor Mall, at the heart of the new ASU downtown campus. Applying principles of “green” design, the artwork helps to improve the building’s efficiency while turning the stairwell windows into a screen showing an ever-changing pattern of reflected colors and light.

Deeb worked closely with the building’s architectural team, HDR and California architect Steven Ehrlich, to harness Phoenix’s ample sunlight to create the work.

“I felt very strongly that, considering the enormous amount of thought and effort being advanced by the city and ASU with respect to green design, our piece would have to incorporate similar concepts to be successful,” Deeb said. He accomplished this by designing the stairwell facade as a shallow chamber sandwiched by two glass walls. The 71-foot-high chamber is vented at the top and bottom and acts as a “solar chimney,” drawing warm air upward. The flowing air helps to cool the stairwell on hot days by channeling heat away from the building’s surface. It also provides the force to produce the artwork’s effects of swirling light.

These effects come from 600 highly reflective aluminum air foils that spin inside the chamber and reflect light onto 102 specially designed glass panels that make up the glass face of the stairwell. Deeb likens the effects to those seen underwater or in a large aquarium.

“It’s kind of a coral reef made of light,” he said.

The display is visible from both inside and outside the building, day and night. The intensity, coloration and movement of the reflections change with the angle of the sun and heat of the day. Special lighting creates dramatic effects on the glass, which can be viewed from Taylor Mall after dark.

Deeb, an award-winning artist from Baltimore, was chosen to create the artwork through a competition that drew 178 applicants from around the world. The title “Aldis” comes from the Aldis Lamp, a marine-signaling device that uses shutters to produce pulses of light.

Deeb’s artwork is a city of Phoenix public art project managed by the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture. For more information about Phoenix’s Public Art Program, visit phoenix.gov/arts or call 602-262-4637 or TTY 602-534-5500.

The Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture was established by the Phoenix City Council in 1985 to improve the design of city facilities and advance the growth and development of the city’s arts and cultural community.

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